Yesterday was my graduation ceremony at Bar-Ilan University, in which I received my doctorate in Jewish History, with a dissertation on "Rabbinic and Maskilic Encounters with Zoology in the Nineteenth Century." As I described in my post "
Zoo Rabbi Doctor", this was the culmination of a change in my life's direction that I
not only did not foresee, but would have positively feared and hated.
Twenty-one years ago, when I was twenty years old, I successfully fought
against my parents, who were urging me to leave yeshivah and attend
university. At the time, even if I would have attended university, it
would certainly would not have been to study Jewish subjects. I looked
at academics in the field of Jewish studies with deep suspicion,
especially if they were also rabbis!
As I mentioned several years ago in my post "
From Yeshivah to Academia", Rav Hirsch writes that one of the reasons why the Torah disapproves of vows is that a person should never make absolute decisions about their future plans; life is a process of growth, and plans change as a result. I am very, very grateful that various circumstances and people influenced me to move in a different direction!
(Mazel tov too to Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Brodt, who also received his doctorate!)
Great picture.
ReplyDeleteAre all the Bar-Ilan diplomas printed in English or is that because you are a mere Anglo? :)
They are printed in both Hebrew and English
DeleteMazal tov on the day preceding the Rebbe's MHM (iy'H) histalkut, this Shabbat. Keep going in bringing rationality to Torah but always try to bear in mind the leader of the generation's teachings.
ReplyDelete"The leader of the generation"?
Delete"Rebbe's MHM (iy'H) histalkut"? So much to comment about this so little time
Delete@Mordechai Harris: Please do not derail the discussion from the subject of the post. [It would be nice if Rabbi Slifkin would outline some of the Rationalist approaches to משיח and גאולה--but not in this post.]
DeleteMazel tov!
ReplyDelete"I am very, very grateful that various circumstances and people influenced me to move in a different direction!"
ReplyDeleteSo it ends up that all the bans and name-calling ultimately were for a good purpose!
More seriously: I heard a story when I was in Kollel that the Chazon Ish applied for a position to be a Rav of a city in Europe. Surprisingly, he wasn't accepted--but then he came to Eretz Yisrael. We can attribute all of the Chazon Ish's subsequent work on מצוות התלויות בארץ to the fact that he wasn't accepted for the position.
More morbidly, Rav Soloveitchik once pointed out that had his dream of achieving a specific position in Europe (most likely the maggid of Vilna), he and his family would not have survived the war. (I suppose the same would be true of the Chazon Ish.)
DeleteThere is absolutely no basis for this story. It's nonsense.
DeleteLawrence' Kaplan
Did the Chazon Ish have a position in ארץ ישראל?
DeleteI doubt that your story is true. The Chazon Ish was extremely averse to assuming any rabbinic role.
DeleteProf. Kaplan: You mean the Chazon Ish story, right? I've heard R' Rakeffet quote the Rav on this a few times.
Delete@Prof. Kaplan and Yehoshua: Oh well. That's why I mentioned that I heard the story in kollel--inspirational stories that kollel guys tell each other probably aren't going to stand up the the scrutiny of a university professor.
DeleteYashar Koah Rabbi Dr. Slifkin!
ReplyDeleteMazeltov. Chuffed for you and full of nachos!
ReplyDeleteMazal Tov HaRav Dr. Slifkin. (Or is it HaDr. Rav Slifkin?)
ReplyDeleteMazel Tov Rabbi Dr!
ReplyDeleteMazal tov! When can we see the published version?
ReplyDeleteYasher koach, Dr. Slifkin!
ReplyDeleteMazal tov, Herr Rabbiner Doktor!
ReplyDeleteY'yasher kochachah!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations
ReplyDeleteMazel tov, R' Dr. Slifkin!
ReplyDeleteBootiful! Mazal Tov!!!
ReplyDeleteKol HaKavod!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on an impressive achievement
ReplyDeleteLawrence Kaplan
Mazal tov! And I concur completely. I too as a young adult successfully dissuaded my parents, both PhD's, from pushing me to university, and stayed in yeshiva. I have now earned m BA and am working on an MA. I believe the honor of Torah wil be better served in the process. Where will you go for your post-doc? Try for Harvard.....
ReplyDeleteG'day. That's bonza news. We'll throw another snag on the barbie!
ReplyDeleteGreat achievement! Heartfelt congratulations!
ReplyDeleteMazal tov Rabbi Dr. Nathan Slifkin.
ReplyDeleteY. Aharon
Congrats and every success in the future.
ReplyDeleteDon't get too happy with yourself.A doctorate in history is a joke. Don't kidd yourself, any child can do it. Try it in mat/science/engineering an then we'll talk.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should learn how to spell before you belittle the doctorate.
DeleteI agree. Departments in all fields other than your preferred ones should be shut down immediately. After all, free and advanced societies like the US were founded by people who were great math experts, but knew little history.
DeleteYou must have a doctorate in spelling.
Delete"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain."
Delete-John Adams
Apparently there are some things that a humanities education can teach you that science can't.... how to be dignified and gracious, for example.
DeleteI believe that your full title is "tiresome talentless tard".
DeleteOne doesn't hide behind initials if one has anything useful to say.
Every line the esteemed Rabbi Dr Slifkin writes shows his brilliant intellectual ability,yet ttt has revealed his pathetic nature in a mere two lines.
"And their children must study painting and tapestry, so their children's children can study Queer Theory, African-American Contributions, and Gender Studies."
Delete-Any Democrat
@ttt:It's a doctorate in Jewish history, but the content of the thesis is Torah content.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWow. Thanks for the entertainment with which to start my week.
DeleteYep, those well known kabbalists, the prophets!
Deleteמזל טוב!
ReplyDeleteBoth to you, and your wife, who has supported you in everything you've done to reach this moment.
Mazal tov v'shefa b'rachot!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations. With you and Dr Brodt, that's already an impressive class of 2016.
ReplyDeleteMazal tov, wonderful news.
ReplyDeleteMazal tov Rabbi Dr. Slifkin. One of my teachers told me the first thing you should do after earning your doctorate is change your answering machine message (this was a few years back) to include your new title, then call yourself, just to hear it. Hearing yourself referred to as "Dr." is a pleasure to be savored.
ReplyDeleteMazal Tov Rabbi Dr. Slifkin Shlit"a!
ReplyDeleteBest Wishes
Steven Gaffin
Mazel tov. May you go from strength to strength.
ReplyDeleteMazel tov Rabbi Dr. Slifkin.
ReplyDeleteWishing you much mazel.
Best wishes,
Yosef Cohen
Mazel tov. Will we be able to read your dissertation?
ReplyDeleteR' Slifkin,
ReplyDeleteA hearty יישר כחך on your achievement!
An old blog post you might enjoy: http://onthemainline.blogspot.com/2011/02/when-rabbis-became-doctors.html
;)
Mazel tov!
ReplyDeleteThe contingencies that shape our lives can only be understood in retrospect. I'm happy for you that your "garden of forking paths" has led to such a distinguished and satisfying destination.
Belated congratulations and compliments on the cool headgear; a big Religious Nationalist kippah with a masonry mortar board on top.
ReplyDeleteMazal Tov! This is an epic form of closure, and a great step in a good direction.
ReplyDeleteKol ha-kavod R. Slifkin!
ReplyDeleteIncredible achievement! Keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly I congratulate you, I am very glad for you. You have wrote your text by yourself or used the assistance of the service, such as this one https://academic-consultants.com/dissertation-writing/? Very interesting to know.
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